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Toolbox Talks

Airless sprayers: the injury that looks like nothing

Hand and power tools 5 min 29 CFR 1926.302

Painting

Why it matters

An airless sprayer pushes paint out at thousands of pounds per square inch. If the tip touches your skin, it can shoot paint deep into your hand through a hole the size of a pinprick. It looks small. It can cost you a finger or a hand if it is not treated fast.

The talk

Airless sprayers are fast, and that speed comes from very high pressure. The stream right at the tip can cut through skin like a needle. The injury often happens when someone wipes the tip with a finger, checks for a clog with a hand, or rests the gun against their leg. At first it may look like a tiny cut and feel like a sting. Under the skin, paint or solvent is spreading through the tissue and killing it. These injuries are emergencies. The rule says guns at these pressures need a trigger safety lock, or a diffuser nut and tip guard. Keep both on the gun and working.

Treat the gun like a loaded tool. Lock the trigger every time you stop spraying, even for a minute. Never point the gun at yourself or anyone else. Keep the tip guard on, and never take it off to get a closer spray. Do not put your hand, fingers, or a rag in front of the tip. To clear a clogged tip, lock the trigger, turn the tip to the reverse position, point it into the bucket, and spray it out. To change a tip or fix anything, follow the pressure relief steps for your machine. Turn off the pump, open the prime or drain valve, and trigger the gun into a bucket to bleed the pressure. Then lock it.

Check the hose and fittings each day. A worn or kinked hose can burst and spray just like the tip. Use the hose the maker calls for, and do not run the pump above its rated pressure. Keep the hose out of traffic and away from sharp edges. Wear safety glasses, gloves, and the respirator the job calls for. If paint is injected into your skin, even if it looks minor, stop and go to the emergency room now. Do not wait to see if it gets better. Tell the doctor it is a high-pressure injection injury and bring the paint label or SDS so they know what is under your skin.

Key points

  1. The stream at the tip can inject paint through skin.
  2. Injection injuries look small but are emergencies.
  3. Lock the trigger every time you stop spraying.
  4. Keep the tip guard and trigger lock on the gun.
  5. Never wipe or touch the tip with your hand.
  6. Relieve pressure before changing a tip or doing repairs.
  7. If injected, go to the ER now and bring the SDS.

Do this

  • Clear clogs by reversing the tip into the bucket.
  • Follow the pressure relief steps for your machine.
  • Inspect hoses and fittings every day.
  • Wear safety glasses and gloves when spraying.
  • Tell the doctor it is a high-pressure injection injury.

Do not do this

  • Do not point the gun at anyone, even as a joke.
  • Do not remove the tip guard.
  • Do not rest the gun against your body.
  • Do not run the pump above its rated pressure.
  • Do not wait to see if an injection injury gets better.

Talk about it

  1. Does every sprayer on this job have a working trigger lock and tip guard?
  2. Walk through the pressure relief steps for our machine. Who can show them?
  3. Where is the nearest emergency room from this site?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

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